Improvement in rifle-barrels



W Q LITTLEJOHN. Rifle-Barrels.

Patented Dec. 11,1377.

MPETERS. PHOTO-LITHDGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM LITTLEJOHN, OF JEFFERSON, TEXAS.

IMPROVEMENT IN RlFLE-BARRELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 198,033, dated December 11, 1877; application filed March 12, 1877.

To all whom it may concern 7 Be it known thatI, WLLLIAM LITTLEJOHN, a resident of the town of Jefferson, county of Oass and State of Texas, have invented a cer-,

tain new and useful Improvement in Fire- Arms; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and correct description of the same, reference being had to the annexed 3 drawing, making a part of this specification,

" the cutters'or plows. Fig. 4 illustrates a projectile with grooves as made by the cutters or plows. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the detachable muzzle-piece, designed to be used with muzzle-loaders. A r

The nature of my invention consists in pro-. viding a gun-barrel with a number of cutters or plows for grooving the ball, said cutters or plows to correspond with the number of guides or ribs with which the gun-barrel is formed, as more fully hereinafter described.

' The construction and operation of my invention are as follows: i

The barrel A is first bored perfectly smooth and of a uniform diameter, after which the guides or ribs or a are formed bymeans of a tool somewhat similar to that used in grooving rifles. A chamber is next made in the When my invention is to be used with muzzle-loaders the guides or ribs a a should extend the whole length of the barrel, and the ball grooved by forcing it through a detachable muzzle piece, C, Fig. 5, of similar bore to that of the gun, and provided withcutters or plows c for said purpose. U

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A 'gun-barrel provided with cutters or I plows c for grooving the ball, substantially as described. i

2. In a gun-barrel, the cutters or plows o, in combination with the guides or ribs to a, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. 1

W. LITTLEJOHN. In presence of- J. O. HUBBELL, ARTHUR BARBARIN. 

